HCM CITY — HCM City needs to speed up December growth to achieve its economic growth target of 8.25 per cent, a review meeting heard on Thursday.

“We had to reduce the growth target from 8.4 per cent to 8.25 per cent because of inaccurate computation at the beginning of the year,” Võ Văn Hoan, head of the People’s Committee Office, told the meeting held to review socio-economic development in the first 11 months.

Hoan pointed out that the general growth index had risen sharply, and higher than last year, but the economy needed to accelerate to achieve the target.

“Revenue collection has been only 88.34 per cent of the target and related authorities must work hard to fulfil the full-year plan.”

Phạm Thành Kiên, director of the Department of Industry and Trade, said the city should focus on its four key industries in the final month.

“Shopping malls, supermarkets and convenience stores have increased significantly, while e-commerce has grown 31 per cent.

“The city should focus on e-commerce besides traditional businesses.”

He said software exports had seen very high growth this year with revenues reaching US$1.5 billion in the year-to-date compared to $1 billion for full-year 2016.

Sử Ngọc Anh, director of the Department of Planning and Investment, said the city’s revenues had grown by 12.6 per cent to VNĐ307.3 trillion ($13.5 billion), or 88.34 per cent of the full-year target.

FDI has doubled to nearly $5.57 billion.

Services and retail sales grew by 11.5 per cent and industrial output by 7.9 per cent.

The city’s four key industries -- engineering and automation; electronics; chemicals, rubber, plastics; and food processing -- continued to perform strongly, expanding markets, investing in technology and improving quality and competitiveness, and growing at over 12.9 per cent.

This year, 37,596 new companies with a combined registered capital of VNĐ778.5 trillion ($34.6 billion) have been licensed, three times the number in the same period last year.

Job creation, vocational training and support for poor people have been carried out efficiently to ensure social welfare.

The number of jobs created rose marginally to 298,225 or 106.5 per cent of the full-year target.

Exports were worth around $32 billion, an increase of 16.1 per cent.

Exports to Singapore grew by 69.7 per cent, to Myanmar by 75.1 per cent, to India by 33.7 per cent, to Malaysia by 24.1 per cent, to Thailand by 25.8 per cent, to China by 21 per cent, and to South Korea by 22.2 per cent but shipments to the Philippines, Indonesia, Italy, Germany, and the UK shrank.

Exports of rubber, vegetables, computers and electronics, and vehicles grew by 18 – 55 per cent.

Imports were worth $38.9 billion, an increase of 13.5 per cent.

Imports from China, India, the Philippines and Cambodia soared, with raw materials, equipment, electronic accessories and metals being the main imported items.

“Authorities have paid close attention to the environment, flooding and traffic as well as price stability,” Hoan added. — VNS